About this Book

Book Summary

Characters from books literally leap off the page
in this engrossing, action-packed fantasy by the author of The Thief Lord.

From the author of the sensational New York Times bestseller The Thief
Lord comes a thrilling new adventure about magic and self-discovery.

Meggie lives a quiet life alone with her father, a bookbinder. But her father
has a deep secret -- he possesses an extraordinary magical power. One cruel
night, as Meggie's father reads a book called Inkheart aloud, an evil
ruler named Capricorn escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their
living room. Suddenly, the two are plunged into the kind of adventure Meggie has
only encountered in fiction, and they must somehow learn to harness the magic
they were reading about to change the course of the story -- before it ruins
their lives forever.

Chapter 1
A Stranger in
the Night

The moon shone in the rocking horse's eye, and in the mouse's
eye, too, when Tolly fetched it out from under his pillow to
see. The clock went tick-tock, and in the stillness he thought
he heard little bare feet running across the floor, then laughter
and whispering, and a sound like the pages of a big book
being turned over.

L. M. Boston, The Children of Green Knowe

Rain fell that night, a fine, whispering rain. Many years later,
Meggie had only to close her eyes and she could still hear it,
like tiny fingers tapping on the windowpane. A dog barked
somewhere in the darkness, and however often she tossed and
turned Meggie couldn't get to sleep.

The book she had been reading was under her pillow, pressing
its cover against her ear as if to lure her back into its printed pages.
"I'm sure it must be very comfortable sleeping with a hard, rectangular
thing like that under your head," her father had teased
the first time...

Please be aware that this discussion guide may contain spoilers!

About This Books

Mortimer is a bookbinder and has passed on his great love of books
to his daughter Meggie, but he has never read aloud to her. When a
stranger named Dustfinger appears at their home, Meggie's world
turns upside down. She soon learns some startling truths  about
her mother's disappearance nine years earlier, and the mysterious
book called Inkheart that her father tries desperately to
hide at the book-filled home of Elinor, Meggie's great aunt. She
learns that the reason Mo has never read aloud to her is because
he has a secret, mysterious, ...

Reviews

BookBrowse Review

BookBrowse

With over 80 reader reviews for Inkheart at BookBrowse, with an average rating of 5 stars, it's clear that this engrossing literary fantasy is a hit with its target audience!
(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).

Media Reviews

Amazon.com - Jennifer Hubert

Meggie’s father, Mo, has an wonderful and sometimes
terrible ability. When he reads aloud from books, he brings the characters to
life--literally. Mo discovered his power when Maggie was just a baby. He read so
lyrically from the the book Inkheart, that several of the book’s wicked
characters ended up blinking and cursing on his cottage floor. Then Mo
discovered something even worse--when he read Capricorn and his henchmen out
of Inkheart, he accidentally read Meggie’s mother in.....Cornelia Funke’s imaginative ode to books and book lovers is sure to be
enjoyed by fans of her breakout debut, The Thief Lord.

Booklist - Carolyn Phelan

Gr. 6-12. Despite the presence of several
well-developed, sympathetic characters, the plot is often driven by the
decidedly menacing, less-convincing villains...Like many other fantasies, this will appeal
to a broad age range, though the writing is far less child-centered than it is,
for example, in the Harry Potter series.

Children's Literature - Sharon Salluzzo

Funke has created a fast paced mysterious adventure tale for book lovers.
Well-developed characters (some humorous, others sympathetic, and some downright
nasty in their deeds) and a strong sense of place will keep readers turning the
pages. She begins each chapter with quotes from well-known children's books and
successfully links them with the events of the chapters. 2003. Ages 10 to 14.

Kirkus Reviews

It is hard to avoid preciosity in books about books, but here Funke pulls off
the feat with vigor....Master translator Bell takes the German text and spins
out of it vivid images and heart-stopping language that impel the reader through
this adventure about narratives-a true feast for anyone who has ever been lost
in a book. (Fiction. 10+)

School Library Journal - Sharon Rawlins

Grade 4-8. Characters from books literally leap off the page
in this engrossing fantasy....This
story within a story will delight not just fantasy fans, but all
readers who like an exciting plot with larger-than-life characters.

Reader Reviews

Chelsey

Inkheart I like this book

Avery

Inkheart My favorite book series ever! I felt that I was in the book and it was amazing all the same!

Rebekah Miller

AWESOME In the two days it took me to read the book I couldn't put it down not even for supper. I wish it had lasted me longer. It caught my attention on the first page and that is what books should do. I always read the first page before I ever get a book;... Read More

a 10 year old female

Inkheart is amazing I really enjoy the book and although I have not completed reading it yet, Inkheart has already reached my top 1 books. I can't wait to read Inkspell and Inkdeath. 2 of my friends and I often read the same book,s or the same series of books, or books ... Read More

Beyond the Book

Cornelia Funke was
born 1958 in Dorsten, Westphalia. Although she is one of Germany''s
best-selling children's book authors, she was relatively unknown in
the United States until The Chicken House, whose books are published
by Scholastic in the United States, published The Thief Lord
in September 2002. The Chicken House's publisher and managing
director, Barry Cunningham, received a letter from a bilingual
(English and German) young girl living in England, who wanted to
know why her favorite author wasn't published in English. Barry set
about the task of tracking down the latest title from ...

Readalikes

Readalikes

Winner of the 2010 Newbery Medal. Miranda is an ordinary sixth grader, until she starts receiving mysterious messages from somebody who knows all about her, including things that have not even happened yet. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death. Until the final note makes her think shes too late....

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